Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney

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Statue of Caesar Rodney
Caesar Rodney Statue.jpg
The statue in 2016
Equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney
Artist James E. Kelly
Year1923 (1923)
Subject Caesar Rodney
Location Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Coordinates 39°44′45″N75°32′50″W / 39.74595°N 75.54730°W / 39.74595; -75.54730

A statue of Caesar Rodney was installed in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The statue was erected in Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington on July 4, 1923. It was designed by New York sculptor James Edward Kelly. The Gorham Company in Rhode Island cast the statue and its two bronze plaques. [1] But since Rodney had been a major slave owner, amid calls for racial reckoning in June 2020, the memorial was removed at a cost of $33,561.80 and placed in a private storage facility in Swedesboro, NJ, at a cost of $100 per month. [2] In February 2026, according to internal Interior Department documents, the statue will be given a position in honor by the Trump administration, at least temporarily in Washington’s Freedom Plaza, as part of the nation’s 250th birthday. [3]

Contents

Description

Bronze plaques are affixed to the northwest and southeast sides of the statue's pedestal. One depicts Thomas McKean greeting Rodney in Philadelphia; the other, Rodney casting the deciding vote in favor of American independence. [1] On top of the pedestal Rodney sits astride his horse, which is in full gallop with its front feet in the air, the majority of the statue's weight on the horse's hind legs. [4] To balance the statue, Kelly heavily weighted the horse's tail and positioned Rodney upright and toward the rear of the horse. [5]

History

Pedestal after the statue was removed for safe keeping Caesar Rodney statue pedestal.jpg
Pedestal after the statue was removed for safe keeping
Postcard of the statue Caesar Rodney monument. Rodney Square, Wilmington, Del (62226).jpg
Postcard of the statue

Funds for the statue were raised by the Caesar Rodney Equestrian Statue Executive Committee to commemorate the ride of Rodney from Kent County, Delaware to Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 1 and 2, 1776. [6]

It was removed from public display on June 12, 2020, along with the statue of Christopher Columbus in Wilmington, Delaware in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Both statues were temporarily removed after a Dover, Delaware statue honoring law enforcement was vandalized with an axe and urine-soaked Delaware state flags. [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McNinch, Marjorie G. (2000). Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7385-0647-0.
  2. ↑ "City News | Wilmington, DE". www.wilmingtonde.gov.
  3. ↑ Friedman, Lisa. "Park Service to Revive Statue of Founding Father Who Enslaved Hundreds". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  4. ↑ DiUlio, Nick (2010-09-10). "The Shapes of Things That Are". Delaware Today. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  5. ↑ Williams, Dennis (2015). "A Guide to Rodney Square": 1–16 – via City of Wilmington.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ Delaware (1921). At a General Assembly Begun at Dover, in the Delaware State, ... the Following Acts Were Passed ... J. Adams.
  7. ↑ Barrish, Cris (June 12, 2020). "Wilmington removing, at least for now, Columbus and Caesar Rodney statues". WHYY. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
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